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Ski cross season restarts in Sweden without Belczyk

“We were training giant slalom and I sort of caught a little rut, which caused this weird double pressure in my ski. I felt the pain in my knee right away.”

BANFF – Canadian ski cross racer Zach Belczyk’s best season of his career came to an abrupt halt two weeks ago during a training session at Nakiska.

“It’s brutal. It sucks,” said Belczyk from his family home in Banff. “I was having the best season of my career and was looking to keep that ball rolling, but injuries are a part of the sport. I keep saying that I was lucky to have made it so far into my career without a serious knee injury – it was bound to happen.”

The 2020-21 ski cross world cup season wrapped up for the Christmas break on Dec. 21, allowing the team members to return home for the holidays, thanks to the COVID-19 rapid test program. The season was supposed to restart on Jan. 13 in Montafon, Austria, but the races were cancelled, delaying the restart of the season to Jan. 20 in Idre Fall, Sweden.

Since the season was delayed the ski cross team set up a training bloc at Nakiska to prepare.

On Jan. 11, the last day of training, two days before the team was to depart for Europe, Belczyk suffered a complete ACL tear and two meniscal tears in his right knee.

“We were training giant slalom and I sort of caught a little rut, which caused this weird double pressure in my ski. I felt the pain in my knee right away.”

Belczyk said the pain was not severe and was hopeful he would still be able to join his teammates in Europe, but an MRI the following day confirmed the severity of his injury, ending his season.

The 24-year-old went under the knife on Jan. 22 at the Banff Mineral Springs Hospital. To repair the torn ACL, Belczyk received a hamstring graft and stitched up the torn meniscus.

“With the hamstring graft there is a little more pain post-surgery because of not only the ACL reconstruction, but they also took a part of my hamstring," he said. "The first 48 hours were pretty brutal, but it's starting to feel better now."

He said for the first week, he has been trying to keep his leg as straight as possible and rest at his family home.

“My mom is taking good care of me right now. I’m not really moving around too much, but I hope to start some sort of physio within the next week.”

The typical recovery time for a torn ACL is eight to 12 months, but the Banff-native is hopeful to return before then. Once he is able to walk relatively pain-free, he said the real physio will get underway.

Just five days after his surgery, Belczyk is already looking forward to getting back on snow in time for next October’s pre-season camp in Saas-Fee, Switzerland.

“My surgeon and doctor have said that it is possible for me to come back before the normal recovery time. My goal is to be able to ski the camp in Switzerland and all the races next season before the Christmas break in order to qualify for the [Olympic] Games.”

With several difficult months of recovery ahead, Belczyk is feeling positive about the process, and the chance to be stronger following the injury.

“About six years ago I did suffer a semi-partial tear in the same knee, so my right knee has always been a little bit weaker," he said. "I would typically get pain in my knee after extensive skiing blocs. I am determined to come back stronger and hopefully more pain-free than ever before.”

Belczyk said he has seen his teammates come back stronger after injuries, in particular Kris Mahler, and can use his return last season as motivation.

“What Kris did and what so many of my teammates have done coming back from injuries is super motivating. It’s sort of a beacon that it can be done. You can come back stronger than before.”

Season restarts in Sweden

Following a lengthy Christmas break, the 2020-21 ski cross world cup season got back underway, and Reece Howden picked up where he left off. After a trio of races, the young Canadian rattled off two gold medals and a fifth-place finish, extending his lead on top of the world cup points leaderboard.

Canmore’s Kris Mahler struggled in the three events, failing to make it past the first two rounds, finishing outside the top 30.

“Going into the race in Sweden, I felt confident and ready to race with three years of racing at this venue and some success under my belt down the big track,” said Mahler in an email.

“The style of course speaks to my abilities, so there was no doubt in my mind. To win races, there are many things that need to fall into place and unfortunately, a few were not in my favour for these races.”

Mahler admitted this season has been difficult to overcome especially with navigating COVID-19 and the restrictions.

The lack of fans in attendance at the races has also been a factor. Mahler said without feeding off of their energy, he has had to shift his mindset. Despite not having the same level of success as last season, he is remaining upbeat.

“This season may not look like last season on paper, but we still have many races left with the end goal Olympics next season. I’m here for the long haul don’t count me out just yet. All good things take time.”

This weekend the circuit shifts to a relatively new venue in Feldberg, Germany. Mahler has never raced the track, but is looking forward to the opportunity to compete on a more evenly matched course.

Two world cup races will take place in Feldberg on Saturday and Sunday.

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